Epidural analgesia in cattle, buffalo, and camels

Epidural analgesia is commonly used in large animals. It is an easy, cheap, and effective technique used to prevent or control pain during surgeries involving the tail, anus, vulva, perineum, caudal udder, scrotum, and upper hind limbs. The objectives of this article were to comprehensively review and summarize all scientific data available in the literature on new techniques and drugs or drug combinations used for epidural anesthesia in cattle, camel, and buffalo. Only articles published between 2006 and 2016 were included in the review. The most common sites for epidural administration in cattle, camels, and buffalos were the sacrococcygeal intervertebral space (S5-Co1) and first intercoccygeal intervertebral space (Co1-Co2). The most frequently used drugs and dosages were lidocaine (0.22-0.5 mg/kg), bupivacaine (0.125 mg/kg), ropivacaine (0.11 mg/kg), xylazine (0.05 mg/kg), medetomidine (15 µg/kg), romifidine (30-50 µg/kg), ketamine (0.3-2.5 mg/kg), tramadol (1 mg/kg), and neostigmine (10 µg/kg), and the clinical applications, clinical effects, recommendations, and side effects were discussed.